Stenographic typewriting machine



Aug. 19, 1952 REED ETAL 2,607,464

STENOGRAPHIC TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed April 1. 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS 1952 M. REED EIAL STENOGRAPHIC TYPEWRITING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 1. 1948 INVENTORS Ep'ecLan/d Fmnk H.Bwlcj0rd BY 7% 754%., ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 19, 1952 STENOGRAPH'IC TYPEWRITING MACHINE Mildred Reed. Bellows Falls, Vi... and Franklin H. Bickford, Liverpool, N. Y.

- Application April 1, 1948, Serial No. 18,354

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in typewriting machines and more particularly to stenographic or short-hand typewriting machines.

Of the several types of stenographic typewriting machines evidenced in the prior art, nearly all are designed to operate generally upon the same principle of imprinting a word or group of words at a single stroke, wherever possible. Such an operation is achieved by constructing the stenographic machine so that a plurality of type faces simultaneously strike the paper through the ribbon when the corresponding keys are depressed by the fingers of one or both hands at the same time. With each stroke, the line spacer is automatically actuated, the result being that eachsucceeding word is written directly beneath the previous word. In lengthy or multi-syllabic words, it is often necessary to devote one stroke to a syllable, some words requiring two or three strokes to be written.

. ber of keys, and yet which will enable the op- The previously known types of stenographic machine, while achieving a highly desirable rapidity in writing by the operation described above, are nevertheless subject to several serious objections. The most serious difliculty has been the necessity of employing a code or shorthand system in imprinting the recorded matter, making it impossible for a person not trained in such code to operate the machine. The necessity for using a code was brought about for the following reason: It is imperative that stenographic machine operators transcribe the spoken word at a highly rapid rate; hence it is essential to limit the movement of the hands and fingers to the smallest area possible. Since the number of keys which can possibly be included in the keyboard is necessarily limited by the anatomical structure of the hand, it follows that the maximum speed and ease of operation can be effected by diminishing the number of keys as far as is practicable.

This object of reducing the size of the keyboard is hampered by the necessity for a suflicient number of type faces, arranged in such an order that any given combination of consonants and vowels forming a word may be imprinted by a minimum number of strokes. In the stencgraphic machines. heretofore designed, a solution of this problem was sought in the use of either a standard shorthand system or a special code devised for the particular machine.

erator to transcribe most common one-syllable words with one stroke of the respective keys.

A third object of the invention is to provide a shorthand typewriting machine which can be operated by a person having no knowledge of shorthand or a special code.

A fourth object of the invention is to provide a shorthand typewriting machine which will type entire words, at one stroke, either in their normal form, or in easily recognizable common English abbreviations.

A fifth object of the invention is the provision of a machine for shorthand typewriting in which the keyboard is designed to facilitate the most effective movement of each finger, especially to enable the outer fingers of each hand to be 10- cated in their most natural operative positions.

A sixth object of the invention is to provide a machine of this type which has two shifter yokes, which are operated independently of each other by the left hand and the right hand.

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan View showing the keyboard arrangement and the relation between the keys thereof and the type faces;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the shift mechanism, shown partly in section, all of the keyboard keys and levers except the two shift keys 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a side section of the shift mechanism showing the right sideof said shift mechanism with thecorresponding shift key, and the frame broken away at certain sections thereof;

Fig; 6 is a sectional view of the shifter yokes and typebar taken through line 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Obviously, each said expedient is subject to ,a

furthe disadvantage. Not only is the written matter produced illegible so far as a person untutored in the special code or in a shorthand system is concerned, but further, an operator of Fig. 5;

is required to memorize a code in additionto being schooled in the operation of the machine.

Fig. 7" is a view similar to Fig. 6, with the outer shifter yoke shown in shifted position;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the shifter yokes in neutral position, as taken through line 8-8 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8, with the inne shifter yoke shown in shifted position;

' Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the torsion tie bars of the machine, taken through line llll0 Fig. 11 is a sectional view of the left-hand adjustable shifter stop, taken through line I I H of Fig. 2; and

.Fig. 12 is a sectional view of the right-hand 3 adjustable shifter stop, taken through .line 12-12 of Fig. 5. I

In order to achieve a degree of legibility never before attained in a stenographic machine without sacrificing either speed of operation or keyboard compactness, it has been necessary .to devise improvements in the. shift mechanismv as well as in arrangement of the keyboard and the shape of keys. As the following explanation will show, the latter improvement would have been impossible but for the former, while the improved shift mechanism would have been valueless unless a novel keyboard had been devised.

' The improved machine has a series of type bars. As shown in Fig. 1, each type bar has an uppercharacter and a lower character. type bars are controlled by shift mechanism, the upper type faces being located in operating position when the corresponding shift key is not depressed; while the lower type face is located in operative position when the corresponding shift keyis depressed. When one character of a type bar is in typing or operative position, the other character of the same type bar is in non-typing ment ofthe divided or multiple shift mechanism, the function of which is to allow one section of type bars to be located in raised or shifted position', in order to type their respective raised characters, while maintaining the other type bars in their neutral positions. 7 l3, arelocated at opposite sides'of the center of the keyboard, ormore specifically, referring to Fig. .1, at the center of the inward portion of each index finger group B, B.

Each'respectiveshift key [3, I3 is attached to V ares-pective shift-lever i4 and'M. The lefthand shift lever I4 has arms 4| and 42. The right hand shift-lever [4 has arms l6 and i8.

The left shift-lever I4 is located rearwardly of right shift lever l4, and the arms 4| and 42 are located intermediate'the arms l6 and [8.

Each shift lever 14 and M can be depressed independently of the other shift lever.' Arm it is secured to one end of rod ifi by clamping screw ll, while the other end of said rod is secured to arm i 8;by clampingscrew 19. Rod 36 is rotatably mounted adjacent its two ends -in extensions 43, 43' of'frame H), as shown in Fig.- l(). It will thus be 'seenthat arms. [6 and i8 are adapted to pivot relative .to frame l5.

Arm 4! .is connected p-ivotallyt'o extension 43 of frame l by the aforesaid clamping screw I9, said screw acting in this instance as a pivot member. Similarly, arm 42 is pivotally connected to extension 43 of the frame of the machine; clamping screw is acting as a pivot mem- These Two shift keys l3;

' is adjustable.

her for said arm 42. Thus, arm 4l is adapted I to rotate with relation'to frame [5 independently of arm 16. 3

As shown in Fig. 5 the arm The shank of described.

21), so that bar 2!! can be fixed adjustably l8. 1 The bar Ziiis pivotally connected at 23 to a link 22. Link 22 is located at one side of an inner link 24. Clampingscrews 26 and 25 releasably fix link 22 to link 24. By means of a slot 2'! in link.22, the connection between links 22 and 24 Link 24 is p-ivotally connectedat 39 to the angular arm'3fi of rear shifter yoke 28. The arm 30 is fixed by screws 3! to the rear shifter yoke 28.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 12, a stop 4'! is fixed adjustably by clam-ping screw 32 to the inner frame 15 of the machine, in order to limit the downward movement of shift key i3. The lower face of stop 4'. is provided with a pad orcus'hi on 34 of soft material, said cushion being located to engage the upper-face of bar 20 when shift key I3 is depressed. 1

As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the rear shifter yoke 28 is pivotally connected at 33 and 33 to upstanding lugs of the; inner frame If of the machine. Hence, when the shift key i3 is depressed, the rear shifter yoke 28 is tilted upwardly. v

As shown in Fig. 2, a lateral rod 35 is fixed to the inner frame I5 of "the machine. As shown in Fig. 5, the upper end of a tension spring 3? is fixed to rod 35 by a screw 36. The lower end of tension spring 3'! is connected at 38 to arm it. The shift key I3 is thus held yieldably in its upper position shown in Fig. 5. In said position of shift key i3, the rear yoke 28 is in its neutral position One of the features of the improved machine is a front shifter yoke 40. The conventional machine of this type has only one shifter yoke.

The front shifter yoke 40 is operated by the left shift key 13.. The mechanism, for actuatingthe wfront shifter yoke 40 by left shift key I3 is substantially. as previously described. The parts which are associated with left shift key I3 and front yoke 40, have prime reference numerals which correspond to the respective reference numerals previously stated.

The differences instructure will be presently to arm As previously .mentioned'the shift lever I4 is provided with a left arm 4|, and a right arm '42. Asshown-in Figs. 2 and 10, left arm 4| is pivotally connectedto extension 43' of frame l5 by pivotfme'mber- I1, adjacent its rear end. Said rear end of arm 4! is located rearwardly of pivot member Ii, and is connected to a bar 20 by screws 2L and, 29. Bar 20 is connected to thefront shifter'yoke 40,'in the manner previously described. Thus, depressing left shift key l3" will upwardly tilt the front shifter yoke 40.

It will be observed that rear shifter yoke 28 is actuated only by arm I8 of shift lever l4 and the intermediate mechanism. Since left arm '16 of shift lever l4 is pivotally attached directly to frame !5 without being directly connected to rear yoke '28,'it is evident that the greatest part of the resulting stress is applied to right arm I8, especially at its'pivot point 19. To diminish this stress and'distribute it equally over both arms l6 and it of shift lever Hi, torsion tie-bar 45 is provided, as best-illustrated in Fig. 10. This tie bar connects the pivot points I! and I'Sof said shift-lever 1 4, said tie bar-being rotatably inserted through extension members 43, 43 of frameifix u f 1' Similarly, to eq'ualize thefstress on left arm 4'! of innexshift lever l4, torsion tie bar48 is provided, connecting the terminal ends of said inner shift lever l4, by bolts 29 and 45.

Attached to the left side of frame l5, by screw 49, a stop her 50 is provided to-limit the downward movement of arms 4| and I6 of shift levers l4 and I4 respectively. The lower horizontal arm 5! of stop bar 50 is provided with a pad or cushion 52. Arm 53 is releasably secured to left arm l6 of outer shift lever M by means of bolts 54, 'said arm 53 having a vertical slot in the center thereof, which enables said arm to be vertically adjusted, thus regulating the downward movement of arm 4| and ultimately the position in which lower type faces 51' strike platen P.

As shown in Fig. 2. shifter yokes 28 and 4|] are Ushaped,- and are located adjacent each other, inner shifter yoke 40 being of smaller dimension and fitting within the U-shaped inner recess of outer shifter yoke 28. Both shifter yokes are independently pivotally secured to extension arms 55,55 of frame l5 atboth terminal ends thereof by means of bolts 33, 33' which are threaded only at their terminal ends 56, 56' and thus secured to extension arms 55, 55'.

Attached along the outer lateral edge of shifter yoke 28 by means of screws 60, 60 is comb plate 6|, comprising a series of slots 62 open at the upper end, each of which said slots encases one type bar 63 or 15 as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. The slots 62 provide a free sliding fit on the side of said type bars for lateral spacing. A guide plate 64 is laterally attached to the upper end of shifter yoke 28 by means of b0lts'65, 65, in order to provide an upper vertical retainer or stop for the type bars.

The right lower wall 66 of shifter yoke 28 is stepped upwardly with the following effect; When said shifter yoke is pivoted upwardly, the type bars on the outer right hand section R of the machine are engaged by the upper surface of the right lower Wall 66 of shifter yoke 28, and are pivoted upwardly, thus bringing lower. type faces 6'! of this section into position to strike the platen P. The remaining type bars comprising section L slide vertically downward through slots 62, and since inner lower wall 68 of shifter yoke 28 is stepped downward with relation to outer lower wall 66, the type bars are not engaged; by said lower wall, and are not pivoted upward.

As shown inFigs. 2 and 4, inner shifter yoke 40 located anteriorly to shifter yoke 28 is similar in construction to saidshifter yoke 28, except thatit has anupwardly stepped left lower wall H, and-a downwardly stepped right lower wall 10 and is'placedin the machine in reverse position. When pivoted upwardly, this inner yoke 40 will engage and raise the type bars of the left hand section L, without affecting the remaine ing type bars 63. In neutral position, neither shift key being depressed, the type bars are vertically restrained between the guide plates 54, 64', and the upper surface of the high step of each plate, the type'bars passing through the grooves 62'of comb plate 6|.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 8, the type bars 53 comprising those located on the right hand side or section R, are shaped differently from type bars 15 comprising those located in section L on the left hand side. Thus, both sets of type bars are cut away on their upper surfaces to enable said type bars to clear the opposing guide plates when shifted, as shown in Figs. '7 and 9.

As waspreviously stated, each of the type bars of the machine bears two type faces in vertical 6. relation to each other, the lower face 61 of which is placed in printing position by depressing the corresponding shift key. The divided-shift mechanism allows shifting of the keys on one side of the keyboard, for instance those on the righthand side, while those on the opposing, or lefthand side remain in an unshifted or neutral position. Fig. 1 shows the arrangement of the type faces, section L being composed of type faces which are shifted by operation of the left shift key, while section R is composed of type faces which are shifted by operation of the right shift key. It will be noted that the vowel type-bars bear the same letters on the top and bottom faces thereof, so that operation of either shift key will not vary the characters typed thereby. This embodiment is illustrated to simplify description of the shift mechanism. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the type bars maybe divided into three sections, the right and left end sections thereof being capable of being shifted by right and left shift keys respectively, while the center section which contains the vowel type bars may be stationary and unaffected by operation of either shift key. To accomplish this effect, the shifter yokes are so constructed that their upper edges do not coincide at the center,

but the downwardly stepped portion of each shifter yoke is extended far enough to enable either shift key to be depressed without actuating the vowel type bars.

In the drawings, the type bars are arbitrarily illustrated as comprising capital letters on the upper type face and lower case letters on the lower type face thereof. Thus in the drawings and description, lower-case letters are used to indicate that the corresponding type is in the raised or shifted position. Hence, by way of illustration, if the word trot is referred to, it will be written TRot indicating that the left-hand section of type bars was in un-shifted or neutral position while the right-hand section, containing the letters 01: was shifted or in raised position.

The lower characters of the type faces are shown as lower-case solely for convenience and simplification in illustrating the invention. In

the preferred embodiment of the invention, how- 7 the keyboard while maintainin the opposite sidein its neutral position, can thus reproduce a wide variety of words at a single stroke which was impossible with previously known shorthand typewriting machines and keyboards. The following letters are capable of being written to open a word, that is, to be typed previous to the intermediate or ending consonants:

AbCdEFgHIjkLMnOPRSTUv'Wy" For the letter Q the letter k may be substituted, while for the letters X and Z, the letamuse Again, '21.. substitute for the letters W, X and Z may belegibly supplied by use of. the following, letters respectively: U, S and s.

The; following illustration is given to clearly reveal the invention in operation. To type the phrase ,Four score and seven years ago our. fathers" brought forth on this continenta new nation the first word Four is produced by depressing the? key with the index finger on the left hand, At the same time, the .right thumb depresses the O andU keys simultaneously by pressingat the juncture between thetwo keys, and thefirst or index finger of the right hand depresses the R key. For this word, itis unn'ec I F U R s o o R A ND E v'N y ea R S v r A] 'r H E R. s

b r o t F o 1' th T H '1 s o 0 N I N s H N :It is: impossible-to Write such, multi-sylla-bic Wordsas father, continent and nation? in one strokeon the keyboard, hence such Wordsare written in separate syllables. However, the syllables are. still read from left to right, and are capable: ofbeingunderstood by a, person untrained in shorthand or inthe operation of the machine; Words likenew and seven which have to be abbreviated, are written nu and .sevnf: respectively, and are stilleasily recognizable; I r

The keyboard shown in Fig. 1 is arranged in ten sections, the keys of each section being intended to be operated by a single specific finger. Sections A, B, C, D and E are to be operated by the thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger and'little finger respectively. The keyboard is principally arranged in a mirrored pattern, in other Words, the opposing keys on each side of the keyboard generally contain the same letters, except that the character produced on one side' when inanunshifted .or neutral position would be thesame as the letter produced. by the corresponding key on the-:othersidewhen. in the shifted? position, and viceversa. For instance, the letter Mon the left-hand side of the keyboard is. produced by striking the top key ofgroup C with the left middle finger, the left side. of the keyboard beingv in an unshifted position. To produce the letter In on. the-right hand side of the keyboard, the middle finger of the right hand is used to depress theopposite. corresponding key, the top keyin group C; while the'right hand side of the keyboard; is" in a shifted position. This mirror-efiect enables the operator of the machine to learn the location of the keys on the keyboard 1 quicklyandaeasily, since most of the letters have thesame. position-on both sides of the keyboard and are operated by-the same finger on each hand,

. In Fig. 1-,.the index-finger groups B; B are. shown arranged in a quasi circular form, the keys being soshaped that. the top and bottom key is adjacentto the two middle keys, while the middle keys are adjacent to every other key'in the group.

The keys in these two groups B, B, are to be operated by the index finger of. each hand, said finger being that digit which is possessed of. the greatest amount of flexibility of any of the fingers. The arrangement of the. keys. of these groups combined with the flexibility of the index finger, enables the shift key on. each side of the keyboard to be depressed by thev index finger together with any of the other keys in the quasicircular groups. There is. also made possible. the reproductionof seven combinations of characters on either side of the keyboard, with a single stroke of. the index finger. Forexample, on. the right, hand quasi-circular group B a single stroke of the index finger can produce thefollowing" combinations: Li -V, l -shiftf, l-shift, VR,'fshift, fshi'ft.r, and rshift. Similarly, on the left quasi circular group B the following combinations can be produced: F -L, l-shift, v-shiftl', v-shift, r*shift, v shift-r, and F R. This arrangement makes possible the inscription of such words as SElf" and ofr with a single stroke.

The vowel keys are located at the center of the keyboard as is conventional in a machine of this sort. This arrangement is essential since the openingoonsonants must be on the left, the vowelsinthe middle and the closing consonants onthe'right, in order to type English words. To enable the production of a greater numberv of combinations of vowels, two U shaped extension arms 15, 15' are provided on either "side of the keyboard. In thumb-group 'A, on the left-hand side, the extension arm IE-is attached to. the top key, or H-k ey and-runs downwardly to below and adjacent the A-key. 'Extensionarm may be operated independently of the other keys in group A; .Thus by striking the/Askew and the lower member -.of, extension .arm' fiat the same time, the combination": HA or in shift position, jja, is typed, in a'ddition to the, possibility .of produc'ing the neutral HE or shifted je and EA. 6n the righthandsi'dathe extension arm 15' is attached tothe O. key-and extends upwardly, the upper member thereof beingjadjacent to the I key. This construction permits simultaneous depressing of the 0 key, through. the extension 15', and of the I- key, thus allowing each of the diphthongs or combinations OU,;UI, and OI to be printed at a single stroke. If desired,i an exten-- sion. arm may be provided to be attachedto. the R keys in groups B, B; and extend to adjacent the L keys of the same groups, thus enabling such To indicate the omission of an unaccented vowel at the beginning of a word, the type bar on the far left contains an apostrophe on its upper type face. The corresponding key is located on the far left of the keyboard and isoperable by the little finger of the left hand. The apostrophe, when written, represents any vowel which may open or commence a word; thus around is written ROUND; afford written FORDJ etc.

As shown in Fig. 1, no' onefinger of either hand is required to strike-more than three different keys atany time. Certain fingers of the hand, i. e. the ring finger and middle finger, are of such an anatomical construction that they are incapable of flexibility of movement in either a vertical or horizontal direction while the rest of the fingers are rigidly outstretched. To compensate finger, and the second or middle finger are each required to operate only two keys, while the thumb and index finger which have the greatest degree of flexibility are provided with four keys apiece for operation. 7 I

To obviate the difiiculty of moving certain fingers independently while the remainder ofthe digits are held motionless, it was necessary to place the keys in a stepped position. Starting with the thumb keys, or groups A, A, as the basic level, the index-finger groups B, B are located approximately three-quarters of an inch above the aforementioned groups; the. middle-finger groups C, C one-half inch above the thumb groups, the ring-finger groups D, D one-quarter inch thereabove, and the little-finger groups E, El, seven-eighths of an inch thereabove. When the fingers rest upon their designated finger groups, it will thus be seen that the hand is placed in an arched position, which position is the most natural and relaxed for movement of the fingers. In short, the second and third fingers are enabled to move more freely when the hand is held in r the aforementioned pcsition 'with said fingers lower than the index finger. The stepped arrangement of keys serves a still further function.

When the hands are placed upon the keyboard,

the relative vertical positions of i the fingers indicate whether the fingers are resting upon the proper finger groups.

' The thumb groups A, A" which contain the vowel keys are arranged on the keyboard'at an angle to the horizontal arrangement of the other key groups. When the hands are placed in their operating position, therefore, the thumbs can conveniently contact any of the three vowel keys, said keys being located in an are through which the thumbs can naturally travel.

While several preferred and modified forms of this invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that numerouschanges, omissions and substitutions may be made in this invention, especially in the arrangement of the letters of the keyboard,'without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

We claim: c V

1. In a shorthand orstenographic typewriter machine having a keyboard at the front end thereof, a pair of opposed shift keys located on either side of said keyboard, a row of horizontally disposed type bars divided into a plurality of sections, each of said type bars bearing an upper and a lower type face, a pair of U-shaped l0 shift levers pivotally mounted in said machine, each of said shift levers having a transversely extending front arm connected to one of said shift keys, and apair of spaced side arms extending longitudinally and rearwardly in said machine from said front arm, each of said shift levers being horizontally spaced from the other, and being pivotally mounted within said machine so that depression of its respective shift key will cause the'free, rear ends of the side arms to move upwardly, and a shifter yoke intermediately connected to the freeends of the side arms of each shift lever, eachshifter yoke having a transversely-extendingarm located directly beneath all of said type bars, a' portion of said arm being stepped upwardly, said stepped portion being positionedto engage and raise one of said type bar sections to a point at which thelower type faces of said section are in printing position when the corresponding shift key is depressed.

2. In a shorthand or stenographic typewriting machine having a platen and a keyboard with a pair of opposed shift keys located at either side thereof, a row of horizontally disposed type bars divided into a plurality of sections and each having an upper and a lower type face, a pair of spaced shifter yokes pivotally connected to the frame of said machine and being independently intermediately actuated by one of said shiftkeys, and a comb plate affixed to each shifter yoke, each of said comb plates having a series of spaced verticalslots, one of said type bars being slidably housed-in each of said slots, each of said shifter yokes having a transversely-extending arm located beneath all of said type bars, said arm havi ng an upwardlyestepped portion, said stepped portion being. positioned to engage and pivotally raise one of said type bar sections to a point at which the lower type faces of said section are in printing position, when the shifter yoke is actuated. I

3. A shorthand or stenographic typewriting machine having a horizontally disposed'row of .type bars anda keyboard with a pair of opposed shift-keys locatedon either side thereof, each of said shift keys being adapted to shift a section of type bars while leaving the remaining sections unaffected, said keyboard being composed of a plurality of keys, the vowel keys thereof being located at-the center of said keyboard, and the consonant keys at either side of said vowel keys, the consonant keys on each side of the keyboard being adapted to produce all of the common consonants, the majority of consonant keys on one side bearing the same letters in shifted position ing located to the rear of said thumb groups,

and the middle, ring, and little finger groups beng located on either side of said index-finger groups, Said finger groups being arranged in arcs beginning with, the central thumbgroups and extendmg rearwardly and toward the sides of said keyboard, said arcs correspondingto the natural position of the: fingertips when the respective hand is held with the thumb centered on the thumb group and the hand in a normal and relaxed arched position, each of said groups being so located as to be centered directly under a separate finger in said arched position of the hand, each of said groups containing a selected number of keys arranged in a patterncorresponding to the effective relaxed sphere of movement of the corresponding finger when the fingers of the respective arched hand'are held centered upon their respective groups, the keys constituting said groups being positioned sufficiently proximate to each other so that all adjacent keys in each group may be depressed simultaneously by the respective finger, the index-finger groups being composed of four keys arranged in circular configuration, the posterior and anterior key of each of said groups extending the length of the two center keys thereof, and being adjacent one edge of both of said center keys, the center keys being adjacent each other at 'the inner facing edges thereof;

5, A shorthand or stenographic typewriting machine having a keyboard composed of a plurality'of keys, the keys being arranged in distinct integral groups having a horizontal relation to each other, the thumb groups being located adjacent' the front end of the keyboard and 'in'the center thereof, the index-finger groups being located to the rear of said thumb groups, and the C middle, ring, and little fingergroups being located on either side of said index-finger groups, said finger groups being arranged in arcs beginning with the central thumb groups and extending rearwardly and toward the sides of said keyboard,; said arcs corresponding to the natural position of the fingertips when the respective hand is held with the thumb centered onthe thumb group and the hand in a norms-snare laxed arched position, each of said groups be'ing's'o group may be depressed simultaneously by 'therespective finger, the index-finger groups being composed of four keys arranged in circular configuration, the posterior and anterior key of each of said groupsextending the length of the two center keys thereof, and being'adjacent one edge of bothof said center keys, the center keys being adjacent each other 'at the inner facing edges thereof, the centerkey adjacent the center of the keyboard being the shift key. H 1 v 6, A shorthand or stenographic typewriting machine havinga horizontally disposed row. of type bars and a keyboard composed'of a plur'ality of keys, each of said keys being intermediately connected to one of said type bars and adaptedto actuate said type bar, the, keys being arranged in distinct integral groups having a horizontal relation to each other, the thumb groups being located adjacent the front end-of :the keyboard and in the center thereof, the in de'x-finger groups being located to the'rear of said thumb groups, and the middle, ring, and little "finger groups being located on either side of' said index-finger groups, said finger groups being arranged in arcs beginningwiththe central thumb groups and extending rearwardly and toward 12 the sides of said keyboard, said arcs corresponding to the natural position of the fingertips when the respective hand is held with the thumb centered on the thumb group and the hand in a normal and relaxed arched position, each of saidgroups being so located as to be centered directly under a separate finger in said arched position I fingers of the respective arched hand are held centered upon their respective groups, the keys constituting said groups being positioned suificiently proximate to each other so that all adjacent keys in each group may be depressed simultaneously by the respective finger, the thumb group thereof consisting of three primary keys arranged in a row, said row extending to- Ward the rear of said keyboard and slanting to- Ward the adjacent side of the keyboard as it extends rearwardly, the angle at which said key row slants being such as to conform to the sphere of movement of the thumb when the hand is held in its arched position, and a U shaped extension member securely attached at one arm to the key at one end of the row, the otherarm thereof terminati-ng adjacent the key at the opposite end :of therow.-'- a 'L-A shorthand or stenographic 'typewriting machine having a horizbntally disposed row' of type bars and a keyboard with a pair of opposed shift keys located on either side thereof, each of said shift keys being adapted to shift a section of type bars while leaving the remaining sections unaffected, said keyboard being composed of a plurality'of keys, the vowel keys thereof being located at the center of said keyboard, and the consonant keys at eitherside of said vowel keys, theiconsonant keys on each side of the keyboard being adapted to produce all the common consonants; the majority of consonant keys on one side bearing. the; same letters in shifted position as the consonant keys. in' opposed relation thereto on the other sideloear in unshifted position, the respective corresponding fingers of each hand being generally adapted to produce the same con sonant letters, said keys'beingarranged in distinct integral groups, eaohgroup being arranged to correspond with a separate finger of the-hand, the keys of each group beingjsufliciently proximate to each other to permit each key in the group'to be depressed simultaneously with at least one other key in the group by the single corresponding finger. j

- MILDRED REED.

FRANKLIN H. BICKFORD.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references. are of record the UN T-E S ATESPATENTS Number v Name Date 1,222,748 7 Edwards et a1. Apr. 17, 1917 1,280,977 Ebelhare' et a1. 'Oct'f8, 1918 1,843,929 Parker ]Feb. "9, 1932 2,189,023 Ayres Feb. 6, 1940 2,318,519 Palanqu'e May.4', 1943 1 FOREIGN PATENTS Number 1 Country Date v 13,609 Great Britain of 1905 422,549 France '*of 1911 549,492

France of 1922 

